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Stuff I liked
"Her voice will live on in DVD and Hulu Plus... And tiny droid projected messages".
Sudden appearance by Burns & Smithers, even if it was totally random.Titanic 2, as Narrated by Al Gore
Peter with the other mascots (minus the pointless reference to Trump killing Tony the Tiger's family).
"HERE'S A DOLLAR, STOP TALKING LIKE THAT!"
Peter getting attacked by a goose.
Joe's daydream
The Bite Album
Helium voices

Stuff I didn't like
The way Angelia died.
Burt & Shelia speaking every other word in their sentence.
Dinosaur walker cutaway
That whole "You and Jared from Subway" bit was just an excuse for one of the most pointless slams at Meg the show's done in awhile.
Pointless Trump reference, as mentioned above.

Misc.
Boy, when was the last time this show's done a cold open to one of their episodes not counting multi-episodes? Also felt like the whole thing could've been shortened by at least 30 seconds.
When it was first announced that Peter would get new bosses, I wondered exactly what would happen to Angelia knowing she'd be written out following Carrie Fisher's death. Personally, I would've preferred for them to say that she retired instead of just killing her off like they already did with Thelma Griffin and what they will do again with Mayor West later this season.
Another episode, another example of Rachael using the Hayley voice for a random character.
Joe's helium voiced reminded me of the LGM's from Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, who were also voiced by Patrick Warburton.
For once, the whole act 4 scene before the credits wasn't entirely pointless, but like with the cold open it could've ended at least 20 seconds sooner by removing the pointless Greg in the Window callback.

I think I've already covered this episode well enough. At the very least, I wanted it to at least be OK when compared to last week's trainwreck as well as the final episode in a very hit and miss year for the series. The only other thing I didn't really care for that I didn't mention already was the ending which felt rushed and was a pretty lazy way of returning to the status quo especially since Brian didn't really do anything to deserve getting fired other than letting fame go to his head. And even then, it's not even that extreme when compared to past episodes like Brian Writes a Bestseller or Brian's Play which again makes his firing all the more undeserving especially since he's being blamed for something that was Peter's fault who isn't really punished for any of it.

2.5/5 rounded up to a 3 for the poll. I likely would've rated this episode higher had it been for that sloppy ending, but I'll still take a mostly good episode with a bad ending over last week's which was just awful from beginning to end.

Last edited by John95; 12-12-2018 at 12:56 PM.
Reason: Decided that the episode actually loses half a point for it's sloppy ending after having more time to think it over.

this wasnt horrible. the brian-peter conflict felt a little underdeveloped but there were some decent gags and nothing really offensive (except peter's arm breaking while throwing a pitch, having seen that actually happen it brought back bad memories). angela's death was nowhere near as crude as i expected, maybe because it happened off screen and otherwise had no relevance to the episode. fingers crossed the upcoming mayor west episode is kinda like that... unless they make batman references like the awkward star wars stuff here lol

The last three episodes were all awful, with the last two being among some of the worst that the show has ever done, so there was really no place to go but up. This episode could have been a lot better considering all the elements at work (Peter's new bosses, him trying to adjust to the changing environment, him becoming the new Pawtucket Patriot mascot, him competing with Brian), but it could have been a lot worse. At least I laughed at a number of jokes and it felt like things were moving faster than they usually do. I wonder if Burt and Sheila are going to continue making appearances, but they probably won't since they're high-profile guest stars and it's not like they show Peter at work that much anyway. 3/5

The first half of this season has been an abomination. I keep wondering how much worse the show can get and it continues to answer that question every week. I'm stunned that they have been able to make 17 seasons with all of the episodes that they've coasted through in the past couple of years. There have only been three episodes so far that I thought were good or decent. The main problem with Family Guy right now is its inability to tell coherent stories anymore. There are times where I'm just dumbfounded by what's happening because none of it makes sense or feels like any thought was put into it. And it's painfully unfunny a majority of the time, combined with the fact that they are now obsessed with dragging out a half-decent joke every single episode. I don't expect any of this to change, but this season is currently on track to become the worst in the entire series.

I wonder if Burt and Sheila are going to continue making appearances, but they probably won't since they're high-profile guest stars and it's not like they show Peter at work that much anyway.

I don't know much about Niecy Nash, but Bryan Cranston does lots of voice work these days. He is the star of SuperMansion, and apparently, is on Robot Chicken a lot. That's also not to mention he had a role on The Cleveland Show, as Dr. Fist. He could probably appear on Family Guy as much as Carrie Fisher did, I would think.

Anyway, onto the episode. It was fine. For the most part Peter's wackiness as the mascot did not get crazily out of hand, and the plot was actually comprehensible, when compared to episodes like Griffin Winter Games, although I wouldn't say this episode is as funny as that one. It was also nice to see Jerome again, since it feels like a while since they've used him. It is hard to deny that this episode came off a little half baked, with Brian and Peter barely going "head-to-head" like promised, but after how sloppy the last handful of episodes have come across as, I will take a straight-forward one. Also, I like that Lois is still a Daughtry fan.

Wow. That eulogy by Peter in the beginning. You just know that he's talking more about Carrie Fisher than her character. I wonder what he'll say about Mayor West/Adam West if they acknowledge his death in the show.

The opening was a fitting tribute to the late Carrie Fisher as far as tone is concerned, though the humour fell a bit flat for me as it ran a little long and Peter mixing lyrics from TV theme songs into speeches has been done before. It ended on a good button though, and the callback at the bridal brunch pulled it all together quite nicely. Kind of unusual for modern Family Guy.

I'd have to agree that last week's episode set the bar quite low, making this one feel more decent. That said, the ending was rushed and uninspired, and there was a lot of blandness. Lois only had about four or five lines in the episode, but most of them highlighted how obnoxious and awful her character has become. It felt like a huge chunk of the episode was missing. Brian was kind of an egotistical dick, but he didn't really treat Peter that badly. As such, the main conflict and resolution just felt weak, and like half the story had been cut out. It wasn't a bad idea for a story and some of the beats were fine, but again, it felt like a lot was missing.

I did like Joe's fantasy, the helium gag was silly but it's an evergreen standby, and The Simpsons reference with Burns and Smithers was rather enjoyable. Apart from Lois ripping into Meg rather unnecessarily (big surprise there) there was nothing overly mean-spirited, which is nothing short of a miracle. Much of it was forgettable, but a few good jokes, a decent if shoddily told story, and a lack of outright horrible moments made it a more pleasant watch than last week. That's not saying much, but it was OK. 2.5/5, rounded up to 3 for the poll.

@Beggs, Brian claims he probably deserved to be fired for letting fame go to his head, but I'm like "How?" Like I mentioned above, besides the whole Beaglemania stuff his supposed ego trip is pretty tame to non-existent when compared to earlier episodes like Brian Writes a Bestseller or Brian's Play, especially since he doesn't directly hurt anyone the way he did to Stewie in those. And that's not even getting into how him not being mad at Peter (who pretty much gets away with everything) reeked of the same levels of BS as them making up at the end of Turkey Guy after finding out that he threw him under the bus simply because he didn't want to take all the blame for eating the turkey and completely dehumanizes him.

Absolutely. I was waiting for the over-the-top, Brian is a complete jerk turn in the story, but it never came. The Beaglemania stuff, as you said, was fairly tame (and I liked it, especially The Bite Album gag). As I said, it felt like chunks of the story were missing, but that's Family Guy for you.

Also good to know I'm not the only one who didn't care for that swipe at Meg. It's overdone at the best of times, but that was just plain bitter and nasty (which pretty much sums up Lois' character these days). I mean, what's the joke? That she's really nasty and Meg is getting dumped on? There's no real punchline there, and it's been done many times before. I guess it appeals to some misanthropic portion of the demographic, but it doesn't do anything for me.

This was better than last weeks' piece of crap. I like the 2 new bosses and I hope they can be more developed and I also hoped they talk like regular people and not finish each others' sentences. That was annoying. I did enjoy Peter reading Angela's eulogy but finding out he was at the wrong funeral and laughed at Joes' daydream. Nice to see him walk. I despised Meg for being nasty at Meg in more pointless Meg bashing. Brian should have been mad Peter for destroying the balloon. The helium part was hysterical. Still better than last weeks. This gets a 2.

FG may be the most inconsistent show ever, as you can see the difference between Con Heiress and this. We went from terrible to great in one week and that's what I wanted in a modern FG episode. Chris Regan is basically my favorite modern Family Guy, although I wish he didn't blocked me on Twitter. The episode starts off with a heartwarming as usual ruined by a gag tribute to Carrie Fisher (feels like it's more focused on her than Angela, whom she predictably died). So to fill the void, they got new bosses. They're both decent characters although finishing each other sentences got old quickly. The bright side, the jokes mostly worked and the plot is watchable and nothing too drowsy or ridiculous. All in all, the best way to end 2018 for Family Guy.